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President Obama Endorses Hillary Clinton. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired June 9, 2016 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[15:00:03]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: The president insisting that Hillary Clinton is best qualified to serve as the next president of the United States.

On Tuesday, he taped a video, a video that, just in the past hour or so, was released by the Hillary Clinton campaign. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: For more than a year now, across thousands of miles and all 50 states, tens of millions of Americans have made their voices heard.

Today, I just want to add mine. I want to congratulate Hillary Clinton on making history as the presumptive Democratic nominee for president of the United States.

Look, I know how hard this job can be. That's why I know Hillary will be so good at it. In fact, I don't think there's ever been someone so qualified to hold this office.

She's got the courage, the compassion and the heart to get the job done. And I say that as somebody who had to debate her more than 20 times.

Even after our own hard-fought campaign, in a testament to her character, she agreed to serve our country as secretary of state. And from the decision we made in the Situation Room to get bin Laden, to our pursuit of diplomacy in capitals around the world, I have seen her judgment. I have seen her toughness.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: That's part of the video released by the Hillary Clinton campaign, the president very enthusiastically endorsing Hillary Clinton as the next -- for the next president of the United States.

We have a team of reporters, analysts, commentators. They're all standing by, full coverage this hour.

We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting.

Let's bring in David Gergen, our senior political analyst, who advised four American presidents.

David, a very important day, the release of the video just coming a little bit -- about an hour or so after the president wrapped up his meeting at the White House with the other Democratic presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders. What's your reaction?

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Wolf, I am so struck by the contrast of the Democrats now swiftly and smoothly closing ranks, vs. the Republicans in tension and near disarray at -- coming out over the last three weeks, something that is happening now in our politics that we didn't see during the primaries.

And that is that Donald Trump completely dominated the airwaves during the Republican primaries, as we all remember. But now you see this professional team taking the field on the side of the Democrats, and they're dominating the airwaves, they're getting their message out very, very well, and they have got this team of surrogates that -- Donald Trump is out there almost alone, virtually alone, making his case.

And here Hillary Clinton has, you know, President Obama now. She has her own husband, another president, Michelle Obama. She is soon going to get Bernie Sanders. She's going to get Elizabeth Warren. And you have got the White House podium for The press secretary.

So, it is a -- I don't think one can say it's over by any means. There's a poll out of the Pennsylvania today, for example, Trump 45, Hillary Clinton 45, general election. And we don't know where this FBI investigation is going.

But something dramatic has taken place in the last three weeks, I think capped today with this endorsement, and that is that you have got a -- not a Hillary Clinton juggernaut, but you have got a very professional team that has taken the field, and Donald Trump and the Republicans had better be paying attention. This is going to get -- this is getting to be a very tough play for them.

BLITZER: Certainly is. David, stand by.

David Axelrod is joining us as well, former senior adviser to the president, our senior political commentator.

David Axelrod, your reaction to what we just heard from the White House press secretary, Josh Earnest?

DAVID AXELROD, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think that it was an affirmation of what the president's own statement contained.

And, you know, some of the questions I think portend what you are going to hear from the Republicans. How can there be an objective investigation if the president has endorsed? You know, what of the disgruntled Sanders supporters and so on?

But, look, as David Gergen just said, this is a good day for Hillary Clinton. And it does -- it's an auguring of what's to come. You have got some very big guns here in terms of the president, the first lady, who are going to be helpful in terms of unifying the party.

The president is obviously going to be helpful in terms of challenging some of the statements of Trump, in just the way that Bill Clinton was for Barack Obama in 2012, when he made that very powerful speech at the Democratic Convention.

[15:05:07]

So, you're seeing some of the power that she can deploy on her behalf in what will be a tough and competitive race. And I want to emphasize what I have said throughout, having gone through these experiences. And David Gergen can speak to this as well.

These races have ebbs and flows. I mentioned earlier about a month ago that it was Trump on the rise and Hillary Clinton scrambling, and now the tables have been turned, and there'll be other twists and turns in the road.

But it's undeniable that the president of the United States is a very big asset on her side. Trump put out a -- by the way, we should mention, Wolf, that Donald Trump put out a tweet shortly after the president's endorsement, saying -- noting the endorsement and saying that the only person who wants four more years of Barack Obama is Barack Obama.

And we will see about that. And that will be the Republican campaign, that Hillary is another four years of Barack Obama. But Barack Obama's numbers are pretty good right now. His approval rating is above 50 and has been for some time. They have been creeping up. And that makes him a more formidable surrogate for Hillary Clinton.

BLITZER: Donald Trump tweeted: "Obama just endorsed crooked Hillary. He wants four more years of Obama, but nobody else does," to which -- look at this -- Hillary Clinton tweeted: "Delete your account."

She responded to Donald Trump by saying delete your account.

David Axelrod, stand by.

Jeff Zeleny is up on Capitol Hill.

Jeff, you are getting new information on when the president actually, what, informed Hillary Clinton that this endorsement was on the way?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: I am, indeed.

On Wolf, Tuesday night, after the final set of primaries, those six states, when President Clinton reached Hillary -- or President Obama -- I'm sorry -- excuse me -- reached Hillary Clinton, he said that, "After this is over, I'm going to offer you my endorsement. I'm going to meet with Bernie Sanders, but I am indeed going to offer my endorsement."

So, that is when this was set in motion, taping the video and putting this together. Wolf, something interesting about the phone call, it actually did not

just happen that quickly. The president had to try Hillary Clinton and then try her again and again, I'm told. They finally reached each other early Wednesday morning in the early hours of Wednesday morning, when the president relayed the fact that he would indeed endorse her.

And, Wolf, I mean, this wasn't a major surprise. He's been inching that direction all along. But he, you know, wanted to give Senator Sanders the respect and courtesy. And I think, interestingly, Senator Sanders said today, when he stepped out of the West Wing after his meeting, he said he did feel that he was treated with respect from both the president and the vice president.

Wolf, I think that's important here, because we talk a lot about Senator Sanders. Yes, he is on board, but those 10 million voters who supported him are not yet all on board. So, that's the next central part here. And Senator Sanders, of course, will have to do his part to help bring them toward Hillary Clinton.

BLITZER: And we will see when that happens. We will all anticipate that meeting presumably in the coming days that Hillary Clinton will have with Bernie Sanders. Bernie Sanders said he hopes to meet with her. Let's see when exactly that happens. He is saying he's competing next Tuesday in the Democratic presidential primary in Washington, D.C. That's the last contest of this primary season.

Mark Preston is with us. He's our CNN politics executive editor.

I assume there will be more high-profile surrogate endorsements coming forward. I'm sure the vice president, Joe Biden, will endorse Hillary Clinton. And we heard the White House press secretary, Josh Earnest, say that the first lady, Michelle Obama, she is on board and presumably she is going to go out and campaign with Hillary Clinton as well.

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Yes, no doubt, Wolf.

And, in fact, we just heard from Martin O'Malley, the former Maryland governor, who has now come out and endorsed Hillary Clinton as well. O'Malley was holding back on an endorsement until a nominee clearly came forward.

And, in fact, that's happened now, so he ways he will be on the campaign trail. But Hollywood is interesting about where we are right now and where we're going forward is all the roles that potential big guns, as David Axelrod had described Barack Obama, what role will they play? We will see Barack Obama, for example, on the campaign trail.

He will be able to help boost the African-American vote, not the percentage of the African-American vote, but perhaps he can get more African-Americans involved in the process, and, quite frankly, to the voting booth in November. That's going to be key in states such as Pennsylvania, perhaps Ohio and Wisconsin, some of the battleground states, as well as maybe even a state such as North Carolina.

Bernie Sanders is going to be help with the liberal vote. He will perhaps be dispatched, if he agrees to do so, to college campuses around the country. He had such a huge following. As you noticed towards the end of the campaign and really quite frankly throughout the campaign, he would often hold these rallies on college campuses where we would see huge crowds; 10,000, 15,000 people would show up to them, so perhaps he can help unify this Democratic Party even more, as Jeff Zeleny noted.

[15:10:25]

That's really the big task for Hillary Clinton. Elizabeth Warren as well could help with that. Michelle Obama, the rock star of the Democratic Party in many ways, can help, not only with women that Hillary Clinton doesn't need so much help, but perhaps African- American women, as well as others in the Democratic Party.

Joe Biden, Pennsylvania, that's what he did for Barack Obama in 2008, 2012. He can go to parts of the country that perhaps Hillary Clinton doesn't have to go to. He will be good there. And, of course, Bill Clinton, somebody who can basically go anywhere in the Democratic Party.

So, Hillary Clinton right now will lot of top surrogates that can go out and try to help her win this nomination -- or win the election in November, Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes. She is going to need them all in what's expected to be a very, very tough fight over these coming months with Donald Trump.

Bakari Sellers is joining us. Here's our CNN political commentator, a Hillary Clinton supporter.

Bakari, will -- here's a question. Will Hillary Clinton be able to put that coalition together that helped President Obama get elected twice?

BAKARI SELLERS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, that is the question, Wolf.

That is the way that -- that's the pathway to 270 and that's the pathway to the White House. What we all know is since, I believe, 1948, you only had one party to have a president elected three times. And unless you include Al Gore winning the popular vote in 2000, you could maybe say two times.

So, we know it's a difficult stretch here, but one of the things that Barack Obama brings, this is a big, big day. This is a day to celebrate. As my friend David Axelrod said, this is the big gun. What he showed and what he showed in the last elections was that it was a diverse coalition.

And when you have on stage Michelle and Barack Obama, when you have on stage Bill and Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Warren, when you have that diversity, when you have these powerful figures, 270 is definitely in reach

And right now it's a stark contrast between where the Republican Party is and where the Democratic Party is. Since three weeks ago, when Hillary Clinton gave that speech in San Diego, where she eviscerated Donald Trump with prose, he still has yet to respond to that. Today, he simply responded with a tweet.

And so what you are seeing is Democrats in this country are now playing offense. Republicans are scrambling and Donald Trump is playing defense. And this is really a good day. This is a good, good team to be a part of. And there are going to be questions to be answered along the campaign trail.

But Hillary Clinton is in very good stead, very good company. And as someone who supported Barack Obama in 2008, I'm very proud, like many people, to join Barack Obama today and say I'm with her.

BLITZER: Very quickly, Bakari, will the African-American community come out in the numbers for Hillary Clinton that they did for Barack Obama?

SELLERS: Well, let me first say that African-Americans aren't monolithic. And I dare not speak for all African-Americans by any stretch, but I will tell you is that we're going to have extremely high turnout amongst African-Americans in this race.

One is because of young voters. Four out of 10 young voters in this country, to be exact, 42 percent of millennials in this country, are voters of color. And many are coming out to support Hillary Clinton. Many are coming out to continue Barack Obama's legacy.

But even if you didn't support Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders, there is a unifying voice. There is the best turnout mechanism we had, and that's we're deathly afraid of Donald Trump being president of the United States and I think that's a unifying factor. That's a turnout factor. The anti-Trump sentiment built with this team is a very good mix for victory in November.

BLITZER: Bakari, stand by.

Manu Raju is up on Capitol Hill. Lots of reaction coming in.

Manu, what are you picking up?

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: There's really a sigh of relief on Capitol Hill, Wolf.

Of course, this is a place here in the Senate that largely, overwhelmingly, almost unanimously supports Hillary Clinton for president. All except for two Democratic senators have endorsed her. And one who endorsed Bernie Sanders, Jeff Merkley, told me earlier today that he doesn't think that Bernie Sanders should go to the convention, that superdelegates will be a sign of the lack of support that Sanders would have if he did choose to go that route.

But really the message that Sanders had at the White House today, saying that he wants to work together with Hillary Clinton and try to defeat Donald Trump, went over very well here. There's a real suggestion that Bernie Sanders is starting to pack it in, particularly after Tuesday. Now, Harry Reid, the Senate minority leader, just came out after

meeting for about half-an-hour with Bernie Sanders just a few steps from where I'm standing right now and made it very clear that this was a very, very positive discussion.

[15:15:10]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MINORITY LEADER: I had a very nice meeting with Bernie Sanders. And I had the good fortune of being able to spend some time with Jane also. Got to know Jane quite well during the campaign and I have great admiration and respect for them.

Bernie was terrific. We were able to recount some of the battles we had here in the Senate, that he, in my opinion, was instrumental in our finishing the job.

No better example of that than that we talked about with the Affordable Care Act. That would not have been accomplished without Bernie Sanders. He had his eye on what he wanted. He didn't get everything he wanted, but he sure got something good for community health centers, $11 billion.

And we talked about that, how important it was for the country.

I also told him, I said, Bernie, I know we are not supposed to be envious about anything, but I want to tell you I'm envious of you in this respect. I said, I have been somebody that fought inside and outside the ring. I ran marathons. I was always so -- I thought of myself as strong physically.

I said, I can't do that anymore since I hurt myself, and I'm so envious of you, the vitality, the energy you show. I said, during this whole campaign, I have never seen you tired but once. And that was he began -- the beginning of his campaign, he had surgery for a hernia.

And he was tired there for a -- so, I said, Bernie, you are pushing it too hard. Well, he such vitality. I'm so amazed with that. We had a good visit. I feel I'm in a good place with Bernie. I feel Bernie is in a good place with my caucus, and I feel that he's in a good place with the country.

I'm not pushing him to do anything. I think he needs a little time to just decide what he wants to do. I have invited him to my caucus on Tuesday. I think he is going to come Tuesday at 1:00 and talk to us for a little bit.

QUESTION: Mr. Leader...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right. So there you have Harry Reid, the Senate Democratic leader, the minority leader, describing the meeting he just had, about a half-an-hour meeting he had with Senator Bernie Sanders. Significantly, at the very end, you heard him say that Bernie Sanders

would come to his Democratic Caucus meeting next Tuesday. That's same day as the final presidential primary contest for the Democrats, Washington, D.C.

And Bernie Sanders said earlier in the day over at the White House he wants to participate. He wants that primary to go forward on Tuesday and he's competing.

Nia-Malika Henderson is with us.

It looks, Nia, like the Democrats are getting their act together. They're all sort of falling in place right now.

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right.

And it happened so quickly, Bernie Sanders certainly feeling the love today, first at the White House with President Obama, and then with Harry Reid. At some point, he's also going to meet with the vice president, so people coming out and really praising him and talking about his historic run and really giving him credit for moving the party to the left, and really raising some of the issues that he's been raising for many, many years now in the Senate and in Vermont as well, when he was a local leader there.

So, this, I think the contrast couldn't be more clear between the Democrats who have run very successful presidential campaigns. If you look back to 1992, Bill Clinton, those two successful presidential campaigns, 2008, Hillary Clinton runs, loses, but then Barack Obama, those two successful presidential campaigns.

And that -- all of that experience and all of that knowledge I think you can see on display here with this perfectly choreographed kind of rollout of an endorsement for Hillary Clinton and then that praise for Bernie Sanders, a person who certainly wanted this.

He wanted this sort of endgame on his own terms. He didn't want to be forced out. And Democrats, of course, wanted to in some ways treat him with grace, and certainly pay respects to him for what he has done, this really historic campaign that no one thought would happen.

And then, of course, that video comes out, the endorsement from Barack Obama to Hillary Clinton there, capturing another moment of history, right, the first black president endorsing the first female nominee of a major party, so, you know, quite a contrast, I think, with Republicans, who now it's sort of in their court to get their game together and figure out how they can unite behind Donald Trump.

BLITZER: Very historic moments, indeed, for the Democrats, very exciting moments, especially very exciting for Hillary Clinton and her supporters.

The president of the United States today officially endorsed her to become the next president of the United States. The reaction from the other side not so positive, the Republican

National Committee issuing a very tough statement, also, Donald Trump and supporters not issuing positive statements, by any means.

[15:20:08]

We are going to get that side of the story and a lot more on this historic day right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BLITZER: The breaking news, the president of the United States has endorsed Hillary Clinton to become the next president of the United States.

In a video released by the Hillary Clinton campaign, the president said in no uncertain terms -- quote -- "I don't think there's ever been someone so qualified to hold this office. She's got the courage, the compassion, so -- the compassion and the heart to get the job done" -- President Obama endorsing Hillary Clinton.

You saw the tweet from the Hillary Clinton campaign. There have been a series of tweets, actually, in the last few minutes. Donald Trump tweeting a very different reaction -- quote -- "Obama just endorsed crooked Hillary. He wants four more years of Obama, but nobody else does," to which Hillary Clinton responded with her tweet -- quote -- "Delete your account."

[15:25:03]

And only moments later, Sean Spicer, the chief strategist for the Republican National Committee, tweeted: "Whichever intern just sent this doesn't get it's not smart for you to talk about deleting anything CC @FBI."

So the tweeting war continues right now.

Joining us now on this historic day is CNN political commentator Marc Lamont Hill, Kayleigh McEnany, a Trump supporter, Kris Kobach, a Trump supporter, Kansas secretary of state, and Jim Messina, President Obama's former deputy chief of staff.

Well, Jim Messina, we just heard the president in that video enthusiastically endorsing Hillary Clinton. It was interesting the form that they used for this endorsement. He's going to go out next Wednesday, campaign with her in Green Bay, Wisconsin. But to put it out on social media, were you surprised by this format?

JIM MESSINA, FORMER OBAMA CAMPAIGN MANAGER: No. I think it's perfect Barack Obama. This is exactly how we did in both campaigns. Went right to the people, gave a straight message on why he was doing this. I was really proud that the White House decided to do it this way.

BLITZER: Kayleigh, what did you think of this endorsement? KAYLEIGH MCENANY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, look, Barack Obama's a very

likable guy. I think he is a huge asset to Hillary Clinton in that regard, but I think there's a real risk here of Hillary Clinton tethering herself to the Obama record, because while he has a 50 percent approval rating, when you look issue by issue, his approval rating is not high.

Moreover, if you look at the RealClearPolitics average, a full 65 percent of the country thinks we are heading in the wrong direction, perhaps because more people are on food stamps, double-digit unemployment for millennials, for minorities, stagnant wages. You could go on and on. Middle East being on fire. So, I think she has a lot to answer for because of this endorsement.

BLITZER: I'm anxious for you reaction, Marc Lamont Hill.

MARC LAMONT HILL, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: A few things.

I think, actually, Barack Obama's popularity will do her an extraordinary service on the campaign trail. It also serves as a strong contrast to Donald Trump in terms of what looks presidential.

At a moment when people are saying that Donald Trump has not sort of conformed with traditional logic of what a president looks like, to have Barack Obama on the trail will be incredibly helpful, particularly in a place like Wisconsin, where they will hit the road, and then again in Ohio and Pennsylvania, where she is going to struggle do get voters of the Bernie Sanders sorts, the white male voters who have economic considerations at the top of their list.

I think he will do her an extraordinary service.

BLITZER: You got to admit, Chris, and I know you're a Donald Trump supporter, that the Democrats seem to be getting their act together in the face of what clearly the last few days has been some disunity among the Republicans.

KRIS KOBACH, KANSAS SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, I will certainly admit that they have closed ranks quickly.

But let's put it in historical perspective, Wolf. In '08, the Democrats closed ranks very quickly, faster than the Republicans did, as well as they did in '04 behind Kerry and 2000 behind Gore.

You know, that's not unexpected. But we have to think about this, how this campaign plays out, though. This is a very different campaign. And I would say Trump more than any other candidate in the last two decades is a truly anti-establishment outsider candidate.

And so, when you see these power figures in Washington speaking next to Hillary, that only augments his message that, look, this is just the Democrat half of the establishment backing their candidate. It's not unusual for a president to back a succeeding candidate of his party. So, it only reinforces his outsider message.

So, while I agree it's always good for a party to be united, I'm not sure that it is not a double-edged sword here when they're going up against Donald Trump.

BLITZER: Let me get Jim Messina's reaction to that.

Go ahead, Jim.

MESSINA: Well, look, I think it's a pretty difference. Right?

Today, you have got on the field the two biggest voices in the Democratic Party, Barack and Michelle Obama. And on the other hand, you have Donald Trump at the same time getting in a Twitter war with the very popular Republican governor of Ohio.

So you have the Democrats unified. You have the Republicans in as big a disarray, Wolf, as you and I have seen in this generation, going, you know, less than five months before the election. I disagree with the secretary of state. I think it's a very, very different scenario and I have never seen the Republicans having this kind of problem.

You have Tom Coburn, a very well-respected Republican senator, saying Trump has a character flaw. You have, you know, a bunch of people continuing to walk away from their party's nominee, Mark Kirk of Illinois.

We have never seen anything this in a very long time. It is OK to be outside the mainstream, but at some point, you have to run a campaign to win the presidency. And that's what Donald seems to be struggling with.

MCENANY: But there's a difference between...

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Go ahead, Kayleigh.

MCENANY: There's a difference between unification of leaders and unification of voters.

Polling bears out that voters in the Republican Party are unified to the tune of 80 percent to 90 percent, probably higher, because that "New York Times" poll was taken two weeks ago. Contrast that with the Democrat Party. The leadership may be all on board, but poll after poll has shown Bernie Sanders supporters are going to have a very hard time getting in line with Hillary Clinton.

So I think leadership unification, great, but work on the voter unification, because, at the end of the day, that's what matters.

HILL: If you're Donald Trump, you don't want only 80 percent of the Republican Party.

And if you're Hillary Clinton, the number is lower statistically largely because she was still in a primary.

MESSINA: That's right.

HILL: But now that Bernie Sanders has stepped out, and now that Barack Obama endorsed her, you will see that 80 jump up.

This was the same narrative that Republicans had in 2008, that the Hillary voters will never turn --